Readers of this blog may recall that Tina and I have been hoping to conceive for some time now. Our efforts were deflated over the Christmas holiday, but it hasn’t stopped us from trying to get prego through fertility treatments. We’ve also done our damnedest through the traditional method of sex … you may have heard of this before.
We took some months off shot treatments, but have started some less invasive procedures over the past two months.
Our first foray into fertility treatments was with shots. That was already six months ago. Tina hates shots, and I had to give her one shot per day for about seven days before an artificial insemination of my semen. Between the stress and the pain of shots and blood work, I don’t think either one of us could go through that hell again.
We’re way less stressed about the whole thing, and hopefully that will help out with the whole process.
Tina started doing acupuncture treatment, which you may know I don’t agree with. But Tina and I aren’t on the same page regarding religion and alternative treatments. I have to agree that the acupuncture has helped some, because before, Tina couldn’t even have phlebotomy done without me holding her down (literally).
Now Tina can have blood drawn on her own, which helps out with my schedule, too. So Tina has ameliorated her sense of self and her pain threshold (psychosomatic or not)
My equilibrium is brimming
You may recall too that I was dealing with blood pressure issues last fall, and I have since taken care of it through diet, exercise and being mindful of my schedule for work. I’ve got the ultimate inspiration, my Mom, who has survived so much physical hardship through diet and exercise that we should all find ways to emphasize it in our lives.
I’ve worked on getting my equilibrium balanced, which I think has helped me tremendously.
I consume far less alcohol than I did just a year ago. I drink very little coffee, just a cup of green tea in the morn. Although I have been drinking an occasional cup of joe lately. It tastes so good.
We eat almost all fresh produce and meats. Since we both work from home, we’re able to do things that seem almost impossible to the average working mope.
And I sleep more.
I went from major paranoia at night to an oblivious indifference without the use of drugs. It’s amazing how much exercise and diet can affect these things.
My blood pressure is consistently around 120 over 80, which is still on the cusp of prehypertension, but it’s not above the levels, so I’m cool. At night and in the morning, it’s around 110 over 65. It’s a far cry from 145 over 120, let me tell you.
My workout regimen is slowly moving up. Yesterday, I biked to the gym and back (3.6 miles total). I swam 1,800 yards in the pool. That’s a little over a mile. I ran a 5K on the treadmill in 24.5 minutes. Swimming has been my largest hurdle. I use other people in the pool as my rabbits for inspiration. Just last week I was barely doing 10 laps without stopping. Over the course of a couple weeks, I pushed myself from 10 laps at a time to 35 laps without stopping yesterday.
When I swim for that long, I hit a point of complete uselessness. All I can do is keep count in my head and concentrate on breathing. Flip turns start getting lazier and lazier the longer I go, and eventually toward the end of the swim, I bail on flipping and just turn at the wall.
What’s a Wittifini?
For those of you who don’t know, Tina’s last name is Serafini, and we jokingly call ourselves “Wittifinis”. A couple months ago, we saw my family and my niece and my sister asked Tina what her last name was. Tina explained that marriage doesn’t automatically change a woman’s last name. It’s a process, and while it’s not too difficult, it’s not simple. Whoever or whatever forbid that Tina should retain her identity despite getting married. Sheesh.
Not being traditional affects our family in ways we find are odd. Of course they think it’s odd too.
Surprisingly, I don’t own Tina, and we find the necessity to adopt the man’s last name as a reference to an era that represents subjugation of women to second-class citizen. It also represents a time when racism was even more severe than it still is today, and it also represents that gay marriage is still considered taboo.
The last name game can suck it.
Should we have kids, Tina claims she’ll take the Witteveen name, which I still find unnecessary. There’s got to be a way to make it work with two last names. I don’t care how long Serafini Witteveen is.
That’s it for an update
It’s been a long time without a personal update. So there you have it. Of course we appreciate all the well wishes and — yes — even the prayers people say they are doing for us. We don’t understand when people edit their words to not include the word prayer. I hear it in my family’s voices all the time and it’s boggles my mind.
I’m the one who’s supposed to edit, which I do constantly. Little do they know how far out of my way I go not to say so many things. I know they do the same thing, but they refuse to talk to me about atheism, so it just makes for some awkward moments.
For the most part, this is the only place I discuss atheism. I don’t know many non-believers, so my community is here. So thanks again or in advance. You’re the best.
If you’re curious about anything else, you best write a question in the comments.
Tonight I’m going to try to get into a reading by Chuck Palahniuk of his new book “Tell All”.
Le Café Wittypoots 